The present invention is in the field of sealed electrical connectors of the type used in automotive wire harnesses.
Multi-terminal wire harness connectors, especially those used in vehicles, are often sealed to protect the terminal connections from corrosion due to water, salt, and chemicals. The point at which the terminated wires enter the connector bodies is often provided with a seal, sometimes known as a xe2x80x9cmatxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccablexe2x80x9d seal, comprising a plug of rubber or similar elastomeric sealing material having holes for the passage of terminated wires in a watertight sealing fit. One particular type of seal is secured in the connector housing by a rear cover or xe2x80x9cholderxe2x80x9d having an array of terminal openings which matches the seal openings in location and number.
FIGS. 1 and 2 represent a typical connector housing, seal, and rear cover combination of known type, with FIG. 1 showing a sixteen-terminal connector and FIG. 2 showing a ten-terminal connector. A female connector housing 10, typically molded from plastic, comprises a rear opening 10a, a rear shroud 10b surrounding the opening, and locking structure 10c formed on the sides of the shroud to receive mating locking structure from a rear cover or holder 12. A seal 14 is sized to fit snugly in rear opening 10a of the connector housing, preferably stopped by internal structure in the housing of such known type as internal partitions associated with connector structure in the housing, or one or more peripheral stop members 10e formed around the inside of shroud 10b. 
The thickness of seal 14 is preferably such that a front portion of the seal is contained within rear shroud 10b in the connector, while a rear portion extends into rear cover 12 when cover 12 is locked against the rear of the connector housing. This arrangement provides a seal around the inner periphery of the junction between connector housing 10 and rear cover 12.
Rear cover 12 is provided with a number of terminal openings 12a adapted to receive terminated wires therethrough and, preferably, to lock a rear portion of the fully inserted terminated wire therein in known fashion. Seal 14 includes a number of terminal openings 14b matching in number and position the terminal openings 12a in rear cover 12. In FIG. 1 the seal has sixteen terminal openings and in FIG. 2 the seal has ten terminal openings, each matching the terminal openings in its respective rear cover.
It will be noted from FIGS. 1 and 2 that connector housings 10 are identical, while their seals and rear covers differ in the number of terminated wires they are capable of accepting. This is a common arrangement designed to allow a wire harness manufacturer to pick and choose among different seals and rear covers to accommodate precisely the number of terminated wires which connector 10 requires for a particular wiring harness arrangement. The connector receiving structure in housing 10 (not shown, but well known to those skilled in the art) will normally be set up to accommodate the largest number of anticipated terminal wires, in the illustrated embodiment up to sixteen. Accordingly, the FIG. 2 embodiment with only ten terminal openings in the rear cover and seal would leave six terminal connections inside housing 10 empty upon assembly.
To eliminate the need for multiple sets of covers and seals in applications where a single connector body can be used for wire harness arrangements having different numbers of terminated wires, the present invention is a xe2x80x9cdeletexe2x80x9d plug adapted to simultaneously close a terminal opening in the rear cover and the corresponding wire opening in the seal. Any number of plugs can be added to a cover and seal combination to adapt the connector to the desired number of terminated wires for a particular connector application
The delete plug has a head portion shaped and sized to mate with and close off a terminal opening in the rear cover, and preferably is further configured to be positively retained in the terminal opening in the rear cover. A front portion of the plug is adapted to be inserted into a wire opening in the seal with a sealing fit.
In the preferred form, the delete plug head is adapted to be inserted into a terminal opening in the rear cover from the inside surface of the cover, and to be positively retained in the terminal opening sufficiently to keep the plug from falling out and further to prevent push-through. The seal is then placed over the plugged cover, with openings in the seal mating with the forward prongs of each of the delete plugs retained in the rear cover. The plugged and sealed cover is then placed on the connector body, and the appropriate number of terminated wires is inserted into the remaining terminal openings in the newly-reconfigured cover.
The delete plugs are preferably removably retained in the rear cover, such that a particular cover can be reconfigured by adding, moving, or removing plugs.
The head of the delete plug is preferably provided with a polarization feature to match polarization notches or other structure typically found in the terminal openings in the rear cover.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon further reading of the specification, in light of the accompanying drawings.